


Necessary Roughness

by Shipperqueen



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Golden Lace, Porn With Plot, Porn with Feelings, Rumbelle - Freeform, shippers post tea ficathon, this was supposed to be a ficlet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-07
Updated: 2016-05-07
Packaged: 2018-06-06 20:17:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6768505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shipperqueen/pseuds/Shipperqueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Belle wants it rough, but Rumple is too hesitant. So she roleplays as her Lacey persona, going to the Rabbit Hole to get hit on by any man she can. Rumple finds her there and gets angry, follows her out to the alley and then they have rough sex against the wall.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Necessary Roughness

**Author's Note:**

> So back after the TEAs I promised that I would write 5 smutty fics, well it took me three months but I finally got one out. I want to apologize for taking so long but I’ve lacked motivation and muse. In my defense, what was supposed to be a short PWP ficlet turned into 8k fic with lots of plot...
> 
> I want to give a special shout out to standbyyourmantis for sticking by me during this and giving me the oh so lovely advice “PENIS IN VAGINA. PUT A PENIS IN A VAGINA!” when I had issues writing smut. She also makes a cameo in this! Another shout out to thelasthomelyurl for beta’ing this for me, I’m soooo sorry lol. Without further ado here we go.

 Belle collapsed on the bed next Rumple, panting and trying to catch her breath as she came down from her post-orgasmic bliss. Next to her, she could hear Rumple’s labored breathing and she felt the rustle of blankets and sheets as he discarded the condom before he collapsed back next to her. Rumple wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her over to rest against his chest, pressing a kiss to her sweat-soaked curls. “Are you okay, sweetheart?” he asked.

Belle smiled slightly at his question, ducking her head so Rumple wouldn’t see. It was the same question he asked after every time they were together. She knew he was terrified that he was going to hurt her, but she didn’t see how that was possible; Rumple was so gentle with her it was as if he thought she was made of glass. Whenever they were together, he treated her as if it was their first time and it was all gentle touches and soft kisses, and even though he always managed to make her see stars, sometimes a girl wished for more.

“Sweetheart, I didn’t hurt you, did I?” Rumple’s worried tone interrupted her thoughts, and she was quick to reassure him.

Lifting her eyes to his, she gave him a soft smile, “Of course not, Rumple.”

Belle felt him sigh in relief and relax. She watched as his fingers came up to trace patterns on her skin, careful never to catch her with his nails and scratch her, never leave a mark. It was the perfect example of how careful he was with her: He’d touch her all he she wanted, but he’d never dream of leaving mark on her. He even felt bad leaving love bites, which according to Ruby most guys loved using them as a way to stake their claim, but Rumple always ended up healing hers, she wished he wouldn’t.

She had tried to explain to Rumple that she wasn’t made of glass and that she wouldn’t break, but he had looked so pained during that conversation that she hadn’t brought it up since. She could remember back to her time as Lacey and her encounters with Rumple, and they were definitely _not_ sweet and gentle couplings.

She could still recall the feel of nails being dug into her back, fingers gripping her thighs so tight they left bruises, the hard pounding of his body against hers so she still felt it the next day. She could remember it all, and she wanted it again, but ever since she had regained her memories Rumple had reverted to treating her like a porcelain doll. She didn’t understand why Rumple would be okay to doing those things with her when she was Lacey but not when she had recovered her memories of their relationship. These thoughts were still running through her mind when she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 

The next day after Rumple had left for work - after he had delivered her breakfast in bed of course - Belle found herself standing in front of her closet trying to pick out her clothes for the day. She held up skirt after skirt but ended up setting them all aside. Her normal dresses ended in up with a similar fate. She had a few pairs of jeans that she didn't wear too often, but those didn't feel right either. She was seriously contemplating spending the day relaxing in her yoga pants and one of Rumple’s old shirts and doing nothing all day. After all, it was her weekend off from the library, so she didn't have to dress up for work or to impress anyone, so there was nothing to stop her from grunging it up. With her mind now made up, she grabbed a pair of her comfiest yoga pants and then headed over to Rumple’s closet to steal one of his shirts; there were a few ‘Mr. Gold’ shirts that he couldn’t stand to wear anymore that she loved, and that’s where she found it.

In the very back of Rumple’s closet, behind his suit separates, the single pair of jeans she had bought him, and the shirts he didn’t wear but refused to get rid of, was a box. When she opened it, she was surprised to find all of the clothes she had bought when she was cursed as Lacey. Leather pants that fit like they were painted on, shorts so short they probably qualified as undergarments, fishnet tights both new and “artfully destroyed,” push-up bras that made her modest breasts defy the laws of gravity, and mini dresses that were barely more than shirts. Every outfit Lacey had worn, and several she never had, were all crammed into a box in the back of Rumple’s closet.

Belle thought back to right after she regained her memories. As Lacey, she had been staying at her apartment above the library, but after she got them back and Rumple went to Neverland she had moved back into the house. She remembered packing a bag with her necessities and a few of the things she had brought with her, but she had left most of the clothes in her closet there since she still had plenty of clothes at the house, she and hadn’t thought of them since. It was clear that sometime after his return from Neverland, Rumple had taken the time to go to her apartment and collect all the clothes from her other persona and hide them away here. What wasn’t clear was why he had decided to do this.

She didn’t regret her time as Lacey; while she didn’t want to spend the rest of her life half-drunk and barely dressed, it had allowed her to explore a part of herself she hadn’t been aware of. Lacey had her faults, but she was still fearless, always willing to speak her mind, and intelligent in a way that Belle hadn’t experienced before. Not to mention the fact that Lacey got to spend time with Rumple in ways that Belle never did.

It wasn’t just the sex, though half the time they didn’t even make it back to his place or her apartment and would end up going after each other like a pair of randy teenagers in his car or in the back of some alley, but everything about how Rumple treated her other self was different. While she loved their nights spent cuddled up on the couch reading or watching a movie, it wasn’t what she always wanted. Lacey wouldn’t have tolerated it. No, Lacey spent her nights at the Rabbit Hole running the table, using the fact that Rumple was glaring at every single man, or woman, who dared look at her to her advantage to clean house. She’d leave at last call several hundred dollars richer and with the most powerful man in Storybrooke wrapped around her like a second skin. And despite the fact that Belle did enjoy going to Granny’s every Friday for hamburgers and ice tea, she could still remember that Lacey got fine dining at Berlioz and Toulouse’s, and anyone who suggested she didn’t belong there met the business end of Rumple’s cane. There were no fancy teas in delicate porcelain cups for Lacey; instead she worked her way through the top shelf of Rumple’s liquor cabinet with cut crystal glasses. Even the way he _looked_ at the two of them was different. Whereas when Rumple looked at her he seemed constantly in awe - despite her constant assurances of her feelings - that he managed to end up with her, there was none of that doubt when he looked at Lacey. He knew she wanted him, even if it was for shallow reasons, but he trusted that she knew what she wanted and he accepted that, something Belle couldn’t seem to get him to do despite their history together.

It was clear that Lacey brought out of a different part of Rumple, and it almost looked liked he preferred her racier self. He treated her more like an individual as Lacey, believed she knew her own mind, seemed to desire her so much more that he couldn’t wait to get them to a private location before having her. He even went to such lengths as sneaking into her apartment and stealing all of the clothes that belonged to her and hiding them away here. It was hard not to come to the conclusion that he wished for Lacey back.

Picking out a dress from the box, she caressed the soft fabric, imagining Rumple’s reaction if she were to be wearing this when he came home from work. She could greet him at the door, dressed in full Lacey regalia, and watch to see how he truly responded to her other half. She could be Lacey, but be in control at the same time; it wouldn’t be like before. Then again, if she was going to be Lacey, then she wouldn’t be found waiting around for him to come home like some 1950’s housewife. No, Lacey didn’t wait for any man, she made them come to her. And just like that, a plan formed in her mind.

Belle took the dress from the box, along with the most daring push-up bra and skimpiest thong she could find, and headed to the bathroom. With practiced moves, she first pulled on the scrap of lace that passed as an undergarment and the bra that had more padding than she had breasts then, setting the dress aside, she went to work on her makeup and hair. Thankfully Rumple hadn’t thought to take Lacey’s makeup when he took her clothes. Everything from the pitch black eyeliners to the 20 different palettes that all claimed to make the best ‘smokey eye’ to the blood red lipstick were still in the back of her makeup drawer where she put them when she moved back after regaining her memories.

Lacey had always been heavy handed with her makeup and so it took Belle, who preferred a more natural look, several attempts to get the look she was going for, but after twenty minutes and three pokes to the eye, her makeup was finally done. Next it was time to move on to the hair. Lacey had rarely worn her hair down; Belle could remember a fuzzy memory of her telling Rumple that she hated it getting in her face and would even fall asleep with it still pulled up from time to time. Thankfully the bun she wore was fairly easy to pull together, though the amount of hairspray required to keep everything in place probably left a small hole in the ozone layer.

Finally, with her hair and makeup done, she was ready to put on the dress that had put this whole plan into motion. The white tube dress in and of itself wasn’t anything special by Lacey’s standards; there were no flashy sequins or anything really eye-catching about the dress. That was if you ignored the zipper that went down the front of the dress, allowing Lacey, or in this case Belle, to determine just how much cleavage she wanted to show. Belle slipped on the dress, momentarily bothered by just how short it was, and zipped it up so that the black lace top of her bra still peaked out. Once paired with her tallest heels, she was ready to go.

The walk to the Rabbit Hole was longer than she remembered, but it gave Belle plenty of time to think about why she was doing this. She didn’t like tricking Rumple like this, but he continued to treat her like the chipped cup he adored so much. He loved her, he would protect her, but he acted like any move he made would make her shatter. She had tried talking to him in the past about it: She had survived being his maid, survived living in Regina’s dungeon for two years and another twenty-eight locked up in an asylum, survived her father kidnapping her and trying to erase her memories, and survived being shot and having her memories stolen from her. She had survived all that and more, and she could handle him treating her as a person. She had told him this, and he had promised to try to be better, but things weren’t improving. This was her chance to prove to him that she was more than one of the trinkets he had collected. She was her own person, she could take care of herself, and he didn’t need to treat her so carefully. She wouldn’t break.

Belle attracted several glances her way as she made her way towards the seedy club, but she ignored them and focused on her goal. When she finally made it to the club she couldn’t help but wrinkle her nose; even standing outside the scent of stale alcohol and cigarettes was overwhelming. She wasn’t sure how Lacey dealt with it every night, but hopefully she wouldn’t be here too long. Now she just needed to make sure Rumple came here. A quick text hopefully sealed her fate and then, with one last prayer for good luck, she put on her best ‘Lacey’ face and entered the dive bar.

* * *

 

Rumple looked up in surprise when his phone went off, signalling a new text. Only three people texted him. Belle would occasionally, but she generally she preferred to call him, Emma texted him when she wanted him to drop everything and be at her beck and call, and Regina texted him when she wanted to whine and complain to him about something that was somehow his fault. As he was currently working on shining up an antique pocket watch someone had brought in, he decided to ignore the text for now. If it was Regina or Emma he didn’t want to deal with them anyway, and if it was Belle he would call her when he went to grab lunch in a few minutes. At least that’s what he told himself.

He tried to go back to polishing the the intricate silver filigree of the pocketwatch but his eyes kept drifting back to his phone lying innocently on his work table. What if it was Belle who texted him? What if something happened? What if she needed him? Yes, when he had left this morning she had still been relaxing in their bed teasing him about getting him out of his suit. The memory of her stretched out naked in their bed was almost enough to distract him from his worry, but not quite. What if something had happened in the time since then? He had so many enemies that would love to to make a statement by hurting one of the few people he honestly loved and cared about. In all, he lasted about three minutes before he threw in the towel and decided that it was time for lunch, and more importantly it was time to check his phone.

On a normal day Rumple would have cleaned up his workspace before going to lunch but that was out of the question now, even the time it took to wash his hands free of any residual polish felt like years. Once his hands were finally clean he all but ran over to his phone to check the text. Sure enough it was from Belle; the only problem was he didn’t understand what the damned thing meant.

Belle was as literate with her text messages as she was with her letters, never did she miss a single comma or proper capitalization. She didn’t even shorten words down like most people would, no, everything was proper and elegant, just like Belle. Which is why the text he was looking at made absolutely no sense.

He had no idea what the hell that was supposed to be. Why were there little pictures in the message? This sounded nothing like his Belle. Horrible images flashed through his mind, people kidnapping Belle, people holding Belle hostage, Belle trying to get his help - and here he was, not able to understand the damned message!

He tried doing the logical thing and calling her, hoping that she could put this whole thing to bed, but of course she didn’t answer. Either whoever had kidnapped Belle wasn’t letting her answer, or she was hurt to the point that she couldn’t answer it herself. The only clue he had to her location was a text message that nobody in their right mind could understand. Just when he thought that things couldn’t get worse, he heard the ring of the bell indicating that he had not flipped the sign to closed and someone had decided to make his day hell.

“Mr. Gold? Are you here?” Said a voice from the front of the shop. It was the new waitress from Granny’s, somehow it had slipped his mind that he had called in his order for lunch earlier and asked for it to be delivered. Usually Ruby made his drop off and would just leave it on the front counter for him if he wasn’t out there, but apparently the werewolf had decided to send in the newbie.

The newbie who was currently walking into his backroom like she owned the place. The girl was a little taller than Ruby, though much more modestly dressed, with red hair tied back in a ponytail. Her name tag read ‘Liz’ and it appeared that she had stuck a sticker of a praying mantis of all creatures on it too. ‘Liz’ gave a small huff of relief when she saw him and promptly presented him with the white take out bag she had been carrying around. “Your lunch, Mr. Gold.”

Rumple gestured to his work table, not bothered with this girl or the barely edible food she had brought at this point; his attention instead remained focused on his phone as he continued his attempts to decipher Belle’s text. He heard her shuffling in the room and had assumed that she had set the food down and left, but after a few moments when he didn’t hear the bell on the door ring again he glanced up to see her still standing there, an expectant look on her face.  
“Did you forget how to walk, Dearie?”

The girl raised an eyebrow and looked down at the food then back to him before crossing her arms. She wanted a tip. Normally he’d have sent her packing with a biting comment clipping her heels, but today he just wanted her gone and if that meant shelling out a few dollars then he’d part with the cash. He set his phone down the workbench next to the food as he dug out his wallet. He pulled out a few single dollars and all but threw them at the girl. The girl collected them with a small smile, sticking them in the pocket of her apron. Finally she was leaving, but right before she left she stuck her head back in with a smirk, “Oh by the way, it looks like your girlfriend wants you to meet her at the Rabbit Hole.” And then she was gone like a flash, he heard the bell above the door tinkling with her departure before what she said fully registered.

It took nearly a full minute after the girl left for her words to sink in and for him to realize she must have seen his text from Belle and somehow understood her bizarre message. Belle wanted him to meet her at the Rabbit Hole? He didn’t have the slightest idea why she would have gone anywhere near that dump, as far as he knew she hadn’t stepped foot in the bar since regaining her memories. Even on her and Ruby’s ‘Girl’s Nights Out,’ they didn’t frequent the dump, preferring Facilier’s Voodoo bar. If someone had forced her to go there without her consent, there was going to be hell to pay.

Rumple had done his damndest to remove all traces of Lacey from their lives; the last thing Belle needed was a reminder that someone had shot her, forced her to lose all her memories, and then had an evil witch replace her entire self with some two-bit drunk harlot with a penchant for billiards. When he came back from Neverland he had been glad to see that Belle had moved back into the manor. Lacey had insisted in living in her apartment, though she had no qualms against sharing his bed and all the amenities his home offered, and so when he came home and found Belle’s skirts and blouses hanging in the closet next to his own clothing, he couldn’t have been happier. It was apparent that Belle hadn’t brought nearly half of her wardrobe though, and with a wave of his hand he had brought it to their home. When Lacey’s wardrobe came with it though he had been disgusted, Belle was just getting over that invasion of her life, she didn’t need a reminder of it hanging in her closet, forced to remember it each day as she went to get dressed. He had boxed up all of Lacey’s clothes and shoved them in the back of his wardrobe where they would never see the light again.

From then on he had done his best to repair any damage he had caused during his time with Lacey. He showered Belle with softness and love where Lacey had been faced with darkness and sharp corners. Romantic nights by the fire replaced watching her hustle people at pool, date night took the place of wining and dining, and most importantly base fucking turned into making love. Rumple had despised taking advantage of Belle’s body when Lacey occupied her mind, but he knew if he didn’t sate Lacey’s urges she’d find someone else to do it, and that just couldn’t happen. More often than not those encounters were hard and fast, and though he always made sure Lacey found her pleasure, Rumple hated himself for every second of it - and he hated himself more for enjoying them.

He had made the mistake once of bringing Lacey back to his and Belle’s bed and had nearly broken down. It had been impossible for him to get it up that night, but thankfully Lacey was a selfish person and after four orgasms by his hands and mouth she had practically passed out, no concern over if he finished or not. Rumple had held her that night while she slept, the woman who _was_ his Belle, but wasn’t. He was grateful that she slept so soundly because it meant she hadn’t heard him begging for his Belle to return. After that night he hadn’t brought Lacey back to their bed, thankfully she was more than happy to make do with cramped cars and darkened alleys.

Rumple had hated every second of being with Lacey, it had felt like a betrayal of everything he and Belle had built together, but he couldn’t stand the thought of her being with anyone else either. Lacey wasn’t Belle, but the idea of her with anyone else made him sick, she wasn’t Belle but she was the closest he could get.

When his Belle had finally be returned to him it was one of the happiest days in his miserable life, and so he couldn’t help the sinking feeling as he reread Belle’s text. Belle wouldn’t want him to meet her at the Rabbit Hole, but Lacey would. Belle wouldn’t have texted him a message like this, but Lacey would have. Things were adding up and he wasn’t sure he liked the solution. Unfortunately, there was only one way to know for sure. He was going to have to go to the damn Rabbit Hole. A flick of his hand and the shop locked up and then, without so much as a second thought, he was gone in a cloud of purple smoke.

The moment he took form inside the bar he was assaulted with the stench of stale beer, cheap cologne, and greasy food, it was exactly how he remembered it unfortunately. The bartender noticed him almost instantly and, after a moment of surprise, the other man gave a pointed nod towards the pool tables. Rumple’s heart sank. He made his way through the crowds of half-drunk people, bypassing the first two pool tables on instinct, coming to a stop next the the third and last table. It was a scene out of his nightmares.

Belle was bent over the pool table wearing some white dress with a zipper down the front that was just asking for trouble, already he could see the top of her lacy bra. Once you added in the fact that it was so short that it couldn’t be granting her much coverage in other areas either, it was taking all his will power not to poof them both back home. It appeared that Lacey truly had returned, and, in true Lacey form, she had gone straight to hustling some poor S.O.B. at pool. Pressed up behind her like a second skin was some young kid who looked like he was barely out of high school, ‘helping’ her line up her next shot.

Rumple had seen Lacey play this con several times before; she’d take some fresh face at the bar with good looks and a fat wallet, stroke their ego and goad them into a few games of pool. Once the game was started she’d play the hapless airhead and lose all her money, that’s when the crocodile tears would start up. She’d guilt the guy into one more game, double or nothing of course, and then the true Lacey would appear. She always made sure to be the one to break, pretending to be shocked and amazed when she pocketed balls off the get go, and from there on she would ruthlessly run the table. The poor bastard would never get a shot in. Sure enough, he watched as Lacey “struggled” through a few games of pool, then suddenly made a miraculous recovery, screwing the poor bastard out of a few hundred dollars.

It was only after Lacey’s sad victim had run off like a dog with his tail between his legs that she even acknowledged him lurking in the corner. Lacey stared him down and for a second. He thought she was going to completely blow him off, but then she was smirking and moving towards him.

“Gold, you got my text.”

If Rumple had any other hopes that Belle was still in there the slurred words and smell of cheap vodka on her breath dashed all of them, but despite that he still couldn’t help but ask, “Belle?”

Instantly her demeanor changed, the smirk disappearing and being replaced with irritation. “No, not Belle. I thought we were through this crap, Gold. You know, I told you to come here because I thought we could have some fun but it seems like you’d rather mope after some long gone girl. I told you before I won’t be a stand-in for your _precious Belle_ ,” she practically spit the last words out at him before continuing, “You know what, I don’t need you. Have fun with your hand tonight.” With one last parting glare, Lacey stalked over to the bar leaving him to stew in his anger.

He didn’t know why had Belle reverted back to this shallow, cheap, persona, but he knew there could only be one person responsible for the change, and Regina would pay for it. In the meantime, he had to keep Lacey from doing anything that Belle would regret. Unfortunately it seemed like his name slip had truly pissed off Lacey because when he followed her to the bar, in an attempt to apologize and slip back into their old role, she wanted nothing to do with him. She wouldn’t even look at him, she paid more attention to the water stains on the filthy bar than she did him, and as soon as she had her drink she was off once more.

For the next couple hours he was forced to watch as Lacey flirted and teased nearly every drunk idiot who looked her way. He had to watch as Lacey danced, if one could truly call what they did dancing, with that greasy mechanic Michael Tillman. He had almost lost his control as Tillman’s hands started to wander to places they didn’t belong, but Lacey beat him to the punch, literally. It was immensely satisfying watching her punch the bastard when he got too handsy. Afterwards he and Lacey shared a small smirk and for a brief moment, he thought that she was moving past the “Belle” incident, until she turned her back on him and started flirting with one of the damn dwarves.

The entire time he was watching, he was planning all the horrible things he could do to get back at Regina for this. He wasn’t sure what he had done to piss her off this time, but the queen needed to remember her place. If she wanted to go toe-to-toe with the Dark One she was going to have to do better than this; he had freed Belle from this prison once before, he’d do it again.

The hours flew by and soon the Rabbit Hole was filled to the brim with the afterwork crowd, and it was hard to miss the number of looks that Lacey was receiving. It seemed like practically every low-life, filthy, creep had decided to come to the bar tonight and Lacey was reveling in the all the attention, what’s more was she seemed to enjoy shoving it in his face. Every time some piece of garbage laid some line on her or bought her some fruity drink, the kind he knew she didn’t like, she’d be glancing over their shoulder at him as if reminding him that it could have been him. Despite all of this, he was dealing relatively well, the Rabbit Hole’s scotch stock was running dangerously low, but he was doing fine. That was until _he_ walked in.

Keith Nottingham.

The former Sheriff entered the bar and automatically assumed the air of someone who was in charge. He made his way over to the bar, ignoring the people who scrambled to get out of his way, his eyes already scanning the bar looking for his prey of the night. He didn’t seem to notice Rumple sitting in the corner of the bar, glaring daggers at him, but he certainly took notice of Lacey, then again he had always had his eyes on her. Rumple watched as a slow smirk crossed the man’s face before he grabbed his beer off the bar and stalked towards the unsuspecting Lacey. Rumple tossed some money down on the bar to cover his own tab and followed after other man, apparently even after two run-ins with the Dark One the idiot still hadn’t learned to stay away from Belle. It didn’t matter if Lacey was more amenable to his groping hands, there was no way he would let that bastard near her.

Between the bar’s drunken respect for Keith and their natural fear of him, it didn’t take long for the two of them to reach Lacey and her newest dance partner, though Rumple stayed several feet back so as to not alert the other man. As soon as Lacey’s partner noticed Keith’s arrival he all but ran in the other direction, leaving Lacey to look around in confusion only to meet eyes with Keith.

“What the hell Keith? What did you do? I liked him!” Lacey asked indignantly, her hands planted on her hips. Her words were like fiery spike being shoved into his chest, he was sure it would have hurt less to be stabbed by his own dagger, but it seemed like he wasn’t the only one who didn’t care for her response.

“He was a ponce, Lace. You deserve better than that.” Keith said. Rumple couldn’t see his face from his position, but from Lacey’s rolled eyes he could imagine the smug smirk the greaseball was wearing. “Come on Lacey, your old man isn’t here and what Gold doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

Lacey didn’t say anything but he caught how her eyes flickered over Keith’s shoulders and landed on him, she raised an eyebrow almost challenging him and only after he didn’t respond did she focus back on Keith. It wasn’t his right to make Lacey’s decisions for her, however, he would make sure Keith didn’t lay a hand on her.

“Sorry Keith, I’m going to have to pass, I’m sure there are plenty of other skirts here for you to chase though.”

Lacey went to walk off, but Keith caught her arm before she could. Rumple started forward, ready to turn the former sheriff into a nice crunchy snail beneath his shoe, but Lacey froze him in place with a glare before turning it on Keith.

“Let me go Keith.”

“One dance Lace, that’s all I’m asking for.” Keith flashed her what may have been a winning smile to any other woman, but Lacey just glared up at him.

“I said no Keith, now let me go.”

The air was tense for a moment and Rumple waited on baited breath for the sleazy P.O.S. to step one toe over the line so he could take action but it seemed that the other man had finally grown a brain.

“Fine, have it your way.” Keith all but spat at Lacey. He let go of her arm, but not before jerking her towards him first, which gave him the perfect opportunity to pour his beer over her white dress. “Oops.” Keith said smugly with a small smirk as he took in Lacey’s now practically see-through dress.

That enough would have been enough to set Rumple in motion, but when when Keith reached towards Lacey with a filthy handkerchief under the guise of “helping” her to cop of feel and start sliding down the zipper of her dress even more despite her loud protests, Rumple saw red. He strode up behind the taller man and summoned the cane he hadn’t used since his return to Neverland. As soon as the cane was in hand it was stretched across the bastard’s throat and used to pull him back, choking him in the process.

“I believe the lady wanted you to leave her alone.” Rumple snarled in Keith’s ear. Keith fought against his hold, trying to use his height to his advantage, so Rumple kicked him the back of the knees, forcing him down so he no longer had the advantage. “I believe you owe the lady an apology.”

“Fuck you!” Keith spat at him, earning himself a whack across the skull with the cane before it returned to choking him.

By now the entire club was watching them, but Rumple only cared about one person. Lacey was watching the situation with a straight face, but her eyes were blown wide. She was aroused watching him take down Keith like he had done before. Forcing the bastard to look at her he repeated, “I believe you owe the lady an apology.”

Keith didn’t say anything at first, so Rumple applied more pressure to his throat until he was sputtering for breath and turning red, and only then did he let up. This happened three more times before the other man broke.

“I’m sorry,” Keith grumbled, and after confirming that Lacey heard him, Rumple let the other man go, watching with more amusement than necessary when he folded over and started gasping for breath.

Rumple walked around the pile of garbage on the floor to Lacey, whose dress was still slightly see-through, and put his suit jacket around her.

“We’re leaving.” he practically growled at her. To his surprise she didn’t protest, instead she let him wrap his arm around her waist and lead her out of the Rabbit Hole. He had just turned the corner into the alley to head to the pawnshop so he could get the car and drive them home when suddenly Lacey spun him against the brick wall of the club and then she was in his arms and kissing him.

Rumple’s mind went temporarily blank. It was hard to think when Belle, any form of Belle, was kissing him and her hands were already unbuckling his belt. By the time he finally came to his sense she had gotten his belt undone and was working on his pants. Rumple broke away from her and pushed her back slightly so she could no longer grope at his pants. “Lacey, what are you doing?”

Lacey smirked, “What did you think I was doing? Trying to shake hands?”

It was hard to equate this Lacey with the earlier woman who had wanted nothing to do with him. She had spent most of the night showing him how much she didn’t need him, but here she was back with him like nothing had changed, it was as if the whole thing was a show. As soon as he thought it he realized that had to be the truth. Everything she had done tonight had been a show, she had been trying to make him jealous.

Lacey seemed to notice the second he caught on to her ruse because her smirk widened, “You couldn’t think that…”

The rest of her sentence was cut off as Rumple pulled her back roughly back to him and crashed his lips down on hers. She responded immediately, kissing him back and molding herself to him like a second skin. A car driving by the mouth of the alley reminded Rumple of how exposed they still were, but as he was still not able to bear the thought of Lacey in his and Belle’s bed, he simply lead them deeper into the darkness of the alley, reversing his and Lacey’s position so she was now the one pressed against the wall.

Lacey wasn’t happy at having their positions reversed, and she struggled slightly trying to flip them around, but when he pressed closer, his cock pressing into her hip, she stopped. She tried to slip her hands down between them to continue her earlier attempts at undoing his pants but he gathered both of her hands in one of his and kept them pinned above her head. “No touching.” Rumple said as he placed open mouthed kisses along her neck. Lacey moaned as he bit down on the juncture where her neck and shoulder met, struggling against him as he sucked at the spot, determined to leave a mark for everyone to see. Lacey may not be Belle, but she was still his.

Only once he was sure there would be a lasting mark did he let up and meet Lacey’s eyes. Belle’s eyes looked back at him but instead of seeing love pouring out of him, all he saw was carnal desire. Dropping his head to her chest, placing biting kisses there, to avoid having to look her in the eyes he came up close to the zipper on her dress. It was the work of a moment to unzip the dress fully so that it fell to her sides leaving her in her bra and a sodden scrap of lace that she considered undergarments. Part of him wanted to rid her of clothes that declared her as Lacey but the part of him that was still thinking rationally reminded him that they were still in public and anyone could walk down the alley and see them; and when Belle got her memories back she might frown on the fact that he had to kill some harmless passerby because they saw her naked.

Rather than risk anyone getting an eyeful of something they shouldn’t, Rumple simply pushed her panties to the side and ran a finger through her soaked folds. No matter how many times he and Belle had been together it was always surprised him that she actually wanted him, she could fake many things but her body couldn’t fake this. It didn’t take long to tease Lacey into a writhing mess, begging for him to give her what she needed, but he held out. She had tortured him all day, it was only fitting he got to torture her right back.

He’d work her up until she was just at the brink of her pleasure, then still his fingers until her senses calmed down, only to work her right back up. Only when she shaking so hard that he was practically having to hold her up did he finally give her what she wanted. It didn’t take much, a few circles with his thumb on her over-sensitized clit had her crying out and clenching around his fingers.

Rumple waited for Lacey to come down off her high and opened her eyes, thoroughly enjoying the way her labored breathing displayed her already pushed up breasts even more in the meantime, before he withdrew his fingers from her. He held them in front of her, admiring how the light shone off her juices covering his fingers, and when she looked at him through pleasure-hooded eyes he traced her lips, coating them in her own desire. Finally she got the hint and opened her mouth, sucking his fingers into it’s warm wet confines. Her eyes never left his as she cleaned off his fingers, her tongue swirling around his fingers, a promise of what she wanted to do to another part of his body and his body definitely took notice.

His cock twitched painfully in his too-tight pants at her seductive gaze and he couldn’t deny himself any longer. Dropping his hold on her hands, he finished her earlier work on his pants, freeing his aching cock but batting away her attempts to touch him, repeating his words from earlier. “I said no touching.”

If she touched him it would be too real, if this was all about her, her pleasure, her desire, he could push away his guilt. He settled for letting her wrap her arms around his neck, tugging at the ends of his hair.

“Hurry up Gold, it’s getting cold out here!” Lacey muttered even as she pressed herself against him in an attempt to entice him to move faster.

“Maybe you should have worn some actual clothes then.” Rumple mumbled as he hitched one of her legs up around his hips and pushed her panties aside again. He ran the head of his cock through her soaked folds, enjoying how she pushed herself up on her toes to try and get him where she wanted. He continued to tease her, pressing just the head of himself in, only to withdraw and tease her some more.

“God damnit Gold! Stop playing and fu-” The rest of her comment was cut off as he thrust forward, filling her and causing her to cry out. Rumple sealed his mouth over hers as he set up a hard pace, silencing her so no one came to inspect the noise, her musk and flavor still lingering on her tongue and driving him insane. Lacey gave as good as she got though, digging her nails into his shoulders so hard that he knew she’d leave marks even despite the shirt he still wore and wrapping her other leg around his waist as well, forcing him deeper into her still.

Rumple had been so worked up that the first thrust into her bliss had nearly driven him over the edge and it was only by sheer will that he hadn’t spent himself like some whelp his first time in the sheets. Even now he was struggling to keep his composure, especially when Lacey started rolling her hips against him, adding even more pleasure to the mix. With her taste on his tongue and her body gripping him like a silk vice, he was closer than ever to losing himself in her. Despite the fact that this wasn’t Belle, he couldn’t deny her her own pleasure either, and so he snaked his hand down between them and after a moment located her slick clit.

The first brush of his fingers against her had her ripping her mouth away from him and calling out, and at this point he no longer cared if people heard. His mouth dropped to her chest, leaving biting kisses along the tops of her breasts. It only took a few more brushes of his thumb against her clit before he felt the first flutters of her climax as it washed over her. Lacey’s head dropped back against the brick wall behind her as she rode out her climax, calling out his name. “Rumple!” It was his name on her lips that triggered his own release, and with a few more thrusts he spilt himself in Lacey, biting down on the top of her breast to contain his own shout.

Now spent, he felt himself slip from the warmth of Lacey’s body and her struggle to get her own legs to the ground while he kept himself firmly pressed against her. Once she finally got herself standing she didn’t try to slip away or make some comment about needing a drink any other crass “Lacey” type comment. No, she simply zipped her dress back up the best she could with him still crowding her space, even going so far as to help him get himself situated. Her movements were sweet and gentle, and nothing like the woman he had come to know as Lacey. Then he remembered what she called out during her pleasure.

She hadn’t called out Gold’s name, no she had called how his name. His true name. Lacey had never called him that - even before, when he had exposed her to the truth of his magic and nature, he hadn’t give her his name. Names had power and Lacey couldn’t be trusted with that power, but Belle...Belle had never wanted the power, she had only wanted him.

It was with hopeful caution that he met Lacey/Belle’s eyes, praying that he wasn’t wrong. “Belle?”

“Rumple.”

It was a single word but to him it was the world, because she was his world and she remembered him. If he had been crowding her space before, that was nothing compared to now. He hauled her close and kissed her, trying to erase the last twelve hours from his memory. When he finally broke away he didn’t let her go, holding her close, lest Regina find another way to hurt her. Still he had to know, “Belle what happened? How did this happen?”

Belle blushed and looked away and right away he knew something was up. “Rumple, you have to promise not to get angry” Belle asked.

His eyes narrowed slightly, it was never a good sign when she started that way. “I think it’s a little late for that Belle. Now what did Regina do to you?”

Belle bit her lip and he could tell she was contemplating not answering at all. “Belle…”

“Well I might have pretended to be Lacey to see your response…”

Rumple stared at her in shock, completely speechless, something that didn’t happen often. Of all the answers he had been expecting, that was definitely not one of the possibilities. She had done this all to herself. She hadn’t been cursed back to Lacey, she had been faking it the entire time. And all to see how he would react to her? She had to know how he felt about Lacey! She could remember her previous time as Lacey, why would she want to relive that? Why would she want to make him relive it? He had done all he could to banish Lacey from their lives and she willingly slipped into the role for fun?

“Belle, I don’t understand. Why would you want to be Lacey?”

Belle crossed her arms and it was very distracting the way it pushed up her breasts even more, something he was sure she knew. “Why wouldn’t I? You clearly prefer her.”

Rumple blinked once, and then again. He couldn’t have heard right. Belle honestly thought he prefered Lacey over her? He only put up with her because somewhere in there was his Belle. “Belle what are you talking about! How could you think that?”

“How could I not? You treat me like a child, you treated Lacey like a woman. She got a part of you I never get to see. You kept her stuff hidden away so you could revisit her whenever you wanted. You took her places you never take me, you gave her things you never give me, you treat her like she’s real and I’m some piece of your collection that needs to be protected and never touched. I’m not glass Rumple, I won’t break!”

By the time she finished Belle had tears in her eyes and Rumple felt horrible. How could she have had all these doubts and he had never known about them? It was true that he treated Lacey and Belle differently, but that was because they were different people; Lacey would never be happy with what he gave Belle, so how could he have known Belle wanted what Lacey had?

“Belle I’m sorry sweetheart. I don’t want Lacey, those weeks when you were gone and she was here were some of the worst in my existence. I didn’t hide that stuff to keep as a momento, I wanted to banish all traces of Lacey from our lives. I never wanted you have to relive that time. I love you, I want you, she is nothing but a pale imitation of you. She’s a different person so I never thought you would want anything that she did.”

“That’s the problem Rumple, she’s not a different person. She’s still me. She might not be the “me” you’re used to, but she’s a part of me. We are one. You can’t take Lacey away from me, just like I can’t take the Dark One away from you. I love all of you, all I want is for you to love me the same way.”

He wanted to argue, he wanted to tell her she was wrong, that Lacey wasn’t her, but he couldn’t. He had designed the curse, he knew that while it gave people new identities, it kept them true to themselves. She was right, then again she usually was.

Rumple cupped her face, brushing away her tears and kissing her forehead. “I’m sorry Belle. I didn’t think of it that way.”

Belle wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her head in his chest, “So you’re not mad at me?”

“Oh no, I’m still mad, but we can deal with that later. Right now I think we should go home and talk.”

“That’s fair enough.”

He could feel Belle smiling against chest and he couldn’t help smiling himself. If Belle could love all of him, he could learn to love Lacey too. There was just one last problem to be dealt with.

“However, sweetheart, you get to be the one who explains this all to Regina.”

Belle stiffened in his arms before looking up at him with a suspicious glare, “What did you do Rumple?”

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Regina stood in middle of what used to be her beautiful manor in shock. Everything was ash. Her home, her furniture, her clothes, everything, turned to dust. She didn’t know why this had happened, but she knew exactly who was to blame.

“RUMPLESTILTSKIN!”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed it! To see Belle's text you'll have to view the fic on tumblr because A03 wont let me post it here for some reason.


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